Foundation rail and securing means therefor



A g- 8. 1957 cs. c. RUSSELL FOUNDATION RAIL AND SECURING MEANS THEREFOR2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 12, 1965 R m N E V m GOR DON C. RUSSELLAgent Aug. 8, 1967 cs. c. RUSSELL 3,334,455

FOUNDATION RAIL AND SECURING MEANS THEREFOR 2 Sheets-Sheet Filed April12, 1965 INVENTOR. GORDON C. RUSSELL Agei'n United States Patent3,334,455 FOUNDATION RAIL AND SECURING MEANS THEREFOR Gordon C. Russell,Studio City, Calif., assignor to Lockheed Aircraft Corporation, Burbank,Calif. Filed Apr. 12, 1965, Ser. No. 447,366 8 Claims. (Cl. 52122) Thisinvention is directed to a foundation of such nature as to beparticularly arranged to support prefabricated wall panels so as toestablish the support for an enclosed buildmg.

Mans .improved technology has wrought tremendous advances in manyfields, but little has been done in the field of construction ofbuildings. Buildings are presently built by conventional methods and tostandards which have been in use for many years. For this reason atremendous amount of expense and labor goes into the creation of thebuilding, whether it be a public building, a factory, a storagestructure or a residential unit. Improvement in building techniqueswhich are permitted by modern technological approach and conceptualimprovement can readily reduce the cost of such structures and make themmore durable by the use of prefabricated panels and related structureswhich readily accept, position and secure the prefabricated panels tocreate the building.

The present invention is directed to a foundation structure particularlyadapted to engage and support prefabricated wall panels of compatibleconstruction. The foundation structure comprises a rail which is securedto the building floor and footing in such a manner as to form acorrectly positioned supporting rail for the subsequently positioned andinstalled wall panels. The foundation rail comprises an upstandingplatform extending longitudinally therealong for engagement with thewall panels, engagement means for engagement with securing means whichretain the wall panels in position and locking means which retains therail in position. Furthermore, the rail is provided with a dependentskirt and which provides a waterproof cover for the exposed portion ofthe foundation material. Therefore, it is a primary object of thisinvention to provide a foundation structure which is particularlyadapted for the support and retention of prefabricated Wall panels so asto aid in the erection of a building which is sturdy and maintenancefree.

It is another object of this invention to provide a foundation uponwhich prefabricated wall panels can be set forth, which foundationpermits rapid assembly with minimum labor.

It is another object of this invention to provide a foundation structurewhich is economically formed and accurately defines the location ofprefabricated wall panels so that the wall panels may be quickly,economically and rigidly secured thereto for proper strength of thefinished buildmg.

The features of the present invention which are believed to be novel areset forth with particularity in the appended claims. The presentinvention, both as to its organization and manner of operation, togetherwith further object and advantages thereof, may best be understood byreference to the following description, taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is an exploded isometric view taken partially in section,showing the preferred embodiment of a foundation structure in accordancewith this invention;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view partly broken away;

FIGURE 3 is an isometric view, partly broken away showing an alternativeembodiment of a foundation according to the invention; and

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of the foundation shownin FIGURE 3.

Referring now to FIGURES 1 and 2, the preferred embodiment of thefoundation structure is shown therein and is particularly related to awall formed floor and footer construction. The floor is indicated at 1and suitable footers 2 are provided around the edges of the floor 1, andif necessary intermediate the edges thereof, to properly support thefloor 1 and the building structure mounted thereon. Both floor 1 andfooter 2 are made of compactable indigenous material to provide economyin building. Permanently hardening materials such as concrete arepreferred, should the materials therefor be locally economicallyavailable. However, other compactable materials such as adobe clay andthe like are also satisfactory for this service. The floor 1 and footer2 are formed of suitable configuration and floor 1 is provided with asuitably level floor surface 3. Floor 1 and footer 2 terminate -at edge4 and foundation rail 5 is positioned thereon. Foundation rail 5 has asubstantially planar base plate 6, which rests upon the floor surface 3and-skirt 7 which depends from base plate 6 and extends down over theedge 4 of the floor and foundation so as to engage the floor and footer.Skirt 7 protects the external edge 4 from weathering and locates baseplate 6 at the edge of floor surface 3.

Supported upon and integrally formed with base plate 6 is a top plate 8.Top plate 8 is spaced from base plate 6 and through a substantial partof its area lies substantially parallel thereto. However, top plate 8has an upwardly extending projection 9 which is substantiallyhemicylindrical and etxending along the length of foundation rail 5.

Positioned within foundation rail 5 is. a nut 10 which has a threadedboss 11 extending downwardly through a suitable opening in base plate 6.Nut 10 has a substantially rectangular central section 12 which carriesboss 11 and which occupies the space between base plate 6 and top plate8. Rectangular section 12 has a hemicylindrical boss 13 integrallyformed therewith which occupies the hemicylindrical cavity under rail 9.Nut 10 has a hole 14 therethrongh which is threaded for the acceptanceof suitable bolts.

Upon construction of floor 1 and footer 2, projection 9 is placed at theedge thereof with anchor bolt 15 screwed into the bottom of hole 14,which defines a locking mem: ber. Thus, when the floor and footer areformed foundation rail 5 is integrally secured thereto in rigidassociation therewith. Thus, the floor and footer are provided with asecure foundation rail which is accurately positioned and which can besubsequently employed for the location, support and securement of wallpanels.

Wall panel 16 is illustrative of the several wall panels employed uponthe foundation rail. Wall panel 16 is also made with its central portionof indigenous material, although if suitable compactable indigenousmaterial is not readily and economically available, it can be fashionedwith a central portion having outer surfaces of planar material, such asplywood which may in turn be suitably waterproofed. Furthermore, thewall panel formed in that manner can be filled with any light,indigenous material such as vermiculite, rock wool, clay or the like.The edges of wall panel 16 are defined by frame 17 which rigidizes thestructure and defines its standard size. Frame 17 is provided along eachedge with hemicylindrical recess 18 which extends along the lengththereof. The hemicylindrical recesses 18 are of such dimension as toaccept the hemicylindrical boss 13 which forms projection 9 so as toproperly align the wall panel 16 with respect to foundation rail 5.

Wall panel 16 is suitably positioned along the length of foundation rail5 so that its upstanding edge is positioned with its hemicylindricalrecess 18 directly over hole 14 in nut 10. Retaining bolt 19 ispositoned in this hemicylindrical recess and engaged in the threads innut 10. A suitable cap is provided at the top of bolt 19 to engage uponthe top of the adjacent wall panels and to suitably hold them in place.Furthermore, clips 20 and 21 engage in suitable openings in panel 16 andfoundation rail so as to hold them in close jointure with respect toeach other. These clips supplement the holding force of bolt 19 andserve to secure panel 16, and the other panels, in place while thevertical securing bolts are tightened.

When interior walls are desired to be positioned upon floor 1 so as todivide the interior of the building into a plurality of separatesections, such can be managed by the positioning of a suitable base orfoundation rail 22 at the place where the room divider is required. Baserail 22 is provided with floor surface engaging feet which form baseplate 23 thereof. Base plate 23 engages the floor without any particularsecurement thereto so as to make interior Wall positioning as flexibleas is possible. Base rail 22 may be secured in place, but such is notnecessary for shifting or lifting of an interior wall does not normallyoccur. Base rail 22 extends upwardly to rail 24 which is of the samedimension and positioned at the same height as rail 9 so thatinterchangeability of wall panels is provided, but more importantly,wall panels of uniform nature are used throughout the structure so thatselection of such wall panels is not necessary.

Wall panel 25 thus has the same characteristic configuration as wallpanel 16, including a hemicylindrical recess 26 extending along thelength of each of its edges. Wall panel 25 thus can be positioned uponbase rail 22 with rail 24 within recess 26 along the lower edge. Thispositions wall panel 25 upon base rail 22 to retain it firmly inalignment therewith. Bolt 27 can be arranged in alternative manner. Ifthe interior wall represented by base rail 22 and wall panel 25 isexpected to be moved, the bolt 27 can be secured to base rail 22 so thatit is moved wehn base rail 22 is moved. However, should it beanticipated that the wall will be permanent, bolt 27 can be secured intofloor 1 so as to represent a rigid structure. In such a case, base rail22 has an opening therein to accept bolt 27. Thus, bolt 27 secures wallpanel 25 and base rail 22 with respect to floor 1. The top of bolt 27 isprovided with securement means to urge wall panel 25 downwardly andmaintain it in position. Thus, it can be seen that the interiorpartition including base rail 22 uses wall panels which are of the samenature as the exterior wall panels. Clips 28 and 29 engage with both thewall panel 25 and base rail 22 so as to retain them together. Referringnow to FIGURES 3 and 4, a further foundation structure is shown therein.The foundation structure includes floor 30 and footer 31 which are ofsuitable material and dimensions for the purpose of the building, thelocation and the available materials. The materials of floor 30 andfooter 31 may be of concrete, or may be of indigenous, compactablematerials. In any event the floor and footer are provided and are ofadequate strength to support the building. In contrast to the structurein FIG- URE 2, however, the floor 30 is not provided with a smoothsurface but is provided with an irregular top surface 32. Since floorsurface 32 is irregular it becomes necessary to level the wallsupporting structure so aslto make the foundation for supporting thewall panels of sufficient uniformity to result in proper fits.

Foundation rail 33 has downwardly depending skirt 34 which extendsdownward over edge 35 of floor 30 and footer 31. Skirt 34 serves toprotect the exposed edge of these parts and serves to edgewise locatefoundation rail 33. Foundation rail 33 has transversely extending top 36which is substantially planar and establishes the level of wall panelssupported thereon. One of these wall panels is generally indicated at37. A projection 38 extends longitudinally of foundation rail 33 and isin the form of a hemicylindrical boss extending longitudinally alongfoundation rail 33. On the side of foundation rail 33 interior 4 of thebuilding the foundation rail extends downward to provide wall 39 whichextends part way to surface 32. At the bottom termination of wall 39flange 40 extends toward skirt 34.

In order to level top 36 so that it lies in a plane all the way aroundthe building, irrespective of the shape of surface 32, foundation nut 41is located Within foundation rail 33 and is of such configuration as toextend into the hemispherical boss of projection 38 from the undersidethereof. A threaded hole is furnished through nut 41 and foundationjacking bolt 42 is threaded therein from the underside. Foundation bolt42 has a large head 43 which engages with surface 32. It is clear thatby adjustment of bolt 42 in nut 41, the height of top 36 is adjustedwith respect to surface 32. Thus, the top can be adjusted into thedesired plane. After such leveling is accomplished dry pack material 44is rammed under foundation rail 33 so as to fill its entire interiorfrom the underside of top 36 down to floor surface 32. Dry pack materialmay be of any conventional material which is readily available, such asconcrete with a minimum of water mixed therewith, adobe clay or othercompactable indigenous materials. When the dry pack material 44 is dry,foundation rail 33 is permanently installed with its top 36 coplanar andlevel, and firmly fixed with respect to floor 30 and footer 31.

Wall panel 37 comprises a rectangular frame 45 which determines theoutline configuration. Frame 45 restrains the body of wall panel 37which is preferably of indigenous material, if suitable indigenousmaterial is available for this service. Frame 45 has a hemicylindricalrecess along each of the edges corresponding to projection 38. Thus, thebottom recess 46 is positioned upon projection 38. An opening is made inprojection 38 directly over the threaded hole in nut 41. Bolt 47 isthreaded into nut 41, and wall panel 37 is moved so that one of itsvertical edge recesses engages over bolt 47. Bolt 47 has restrainingmeans at its top so that it engages upon the top of wall panel 37 tohold it in position upon foundation rail 33. Thus, a rigid structure isformed.

This invention having been described in its preferred embodiment it isclear that it is susceptible to numerous modifications and changeswithout the utilization of the inventive faculty. Accordingly, the scopeof this invention is defined by the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A foundation rail for supporting wall panels comprising:

a plate adapted for positioning in spaced relation from a foundation andarranged to extend around a build ing employing said foundation rail, aprojection extending upwardly from said plate and extendinglongitudinally of said foundation rail, a skirt depending from saidplate, said skirt being adapted to engage the exterior edge of a floor,a nut positioned beneath said plate, said nut configured to fit withinand engaging the underside of said projection so as to maintain said nutin position with respect to said rail.

2. The foundation rail of claim 1 wherein a member is screwed into saidnut from its lower side, away from said projection.

3. The foundation rail of claim 2 wherein said member screwed into saidnut from the underside thereof comprises a jacking bolt, said jackingbolt adapted to contact the top surface of the foundation so as topermit jacking of said plate of said foundation rail with respect to thefoundation.

4. The foundation rail of claim 2 wherein a bolt is screwed into saidnut from its upper side, said rail being provided with an openingadjacent said nut, said bolt extending through said rail opening andengaging in said nut, said bolt being adapted to engage wall panels andretain them in position with respect to said foundation rail.

5. The foundation rail of claim 4 wherein said member screwed into thebottom side of said nut is a bolt, said bolt being adapted to engage theupper surface of the foundation, said bolt being adapted to adjust saidplate with respect to the foundation.

6. The foundation rail of claim 4 wherein said member screwed into theunderside of said nut comprises an anchor bolt, said anchor bolt beingpositioned in the foundation of a building so as to anchor saidfoundation rail with respect to said foundation.

7. A building structure for a prefabricated building having a floor, atop surface, said building structure comprising:

a foundation rail, said foundation rail having a bottom plate and a topplate that lies in a single plane;

a projection located upon said top plate, said projection extendingupward from said top plate longitudinally of said foundation rail andhaving at least one opening therethrough a nut under said top .plateengaging the underside of said projection and bearing against saidbottom plate, said nut having a locking member extending from the bottomside thereof, said locking member locking said nut with respect to thefloor top surface;

a skirt on said foundation ,rail, said skirt depending from said topplate and extending downward along the edge of the building floor;

a bolt engaged in said nut and extending through said opening in saidprojection, said bolt extending upwardly from said top plate;

a wall panel, said wall panel having recesses arranged longitudinally ofthe edges thereof, said projection positioned within one of saidrecesses and said bolt positioned partially within another of saidrecesses, said bolt cooperating with said wall panel so that said wallpanel is restrained with respect to said foundation rail.

8. The building structure of claim 7 wherein said locking member isengaged in said nut from the unders-ide thereof and comprises an anchorbolt engaged in the floor so that said foundation rail is restrainedwith respect to the floor.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,137,767 11/1938 Betcone 52-2742,414,628 1/1947 Bat-tin 52-293 X 2,883,852 4/1959 Midly 52-274 X3,083,795 4/1963 Land 52-241 X 3,190,041 6/1965 Kimball 52-294 X3,203,147 8/1965 Penley 52-127 X FRANK L. ABBOTT, Primary Examiner.

M. O. WARNECKE, Assistant Examiner.

7. A BUILDING STRUCTURE FOR A PREFABRICATED BUILDING HAVING A FLOOR, ATOP SURFACE, SAID BUILDING STRUCTURE COMPRISING: A FOUNDATION RAIL, SAIDFOUNDATION RAIL HAVING A BOTTOM PLATE AND A TOP PLATE THAT LIES IN ASINGLE PLANE; A PROJECTION LOCATED UPON SAID TOP PLATE, SAID PROJECTIONEXTENDING UPWARD FROM SAID TOP PLATE LONGITUDINALLY OF SAID FOUNDATIONRAIL AND HAVING AT LEAST ONE OPENING THERETHROUGH A NUT UNDER SAID TOPPLATE ENGAGING THE UNDERSIDE OF SAID PROJECTION AND BEARING AGAINST SAIDBOTTOM PLATE, SAID NUT HAVING A LOCKING MEMBER EXTENDING FROM THE BOTTOMSIDE THEREOF, SAID LOCKING MEMBER LOCKING SAID NUT WITH RESPECT TO THEFLOOR TOP SURFACE; A SKIRT ON SAID FOUNDATION RAIL, SAID SKIRT DEPENDINGFROM SAID TOP PLATE AND EXTENDING DOWNWARD ALONG THE EDGE OF THEBUILDING FLOOR; A BOLT ENGAGED IN SAID NUT AND EXTENDING THROUGH SAIDOPENING IN SAID PROJECTION, SAID BOLT EXTENDING UPWARDLY FROM SAID TOPPLATE; A WALL PANEL, SAID WALL PANEL HAVING RECESSES ARRANGEDLONGITUDINALLY OF THE EDGES THEREOF, SAID PROJECTION POSITIONED WITHINONE OF SAID RECESSES AND SAID BOLT POSITIONED PARTIALLY WITHIN ANOTHEROF SAID RECESSES, SAID BOLT COOPERATING WITH SAID WALL PANEL SO THATSAID WALL PANEL IS RESTRAINED WITH RESPECT TO SAID FOUNDATION RAIL.